Flytipping gangs 'acting with impunity' and elderly victim 'treated like criminal' as Government promises crackdown
An 80-year-old farmer has told LBC he was "devastated" to find more than 200 tonnes of rubbish dumped illegally on his farm in Hertfordshire last June.
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Several lorry loads of waste bin products, mattresses, office furniture, needles and drug paraphernalia have been rotting on his land in St Albans ever since.
No arrests have been made, but he was told by the local council he had to pay more than £50,000 to get the rubbish removed, which he couldn’t afford, or face prosecution.
His neighbour, Will Dickinson, has told LBC that it took a huge emotional toll on him.
"He phoned me quite distressed, and realised that the huge concrete block he had put in the gateway to this field had been moved overnight.
"In the space of a few days, there was an enormous array of material dumped in his field.
"He just turned 80 - he lost his wife this time last year. His daughter lives on the other side of the world, so it was really quite devastating for him to see this."
Outrage grew over the case, and a few weeks ago, an ordinary member of the public set up a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money for the farmer.
31-year-old Archie Fold raised £56,000 in a matter of days, telling LBC that he was horrified to hear about the case.
"This is just so much worse in person than in the pictures", he said.
"I was outraged when I heard about this and wanted to do something to help.
"It’s staggering to see this in person", he said while looking at the dumped rubbish on the farm.
"Criminal gangs are acting with impunity."
More than 2,000 people donated to the crowdfunder, with one person donating as much as £1000.
Will told LBC that people raised money because they are "disgusted" by the laws, which are "unjust" and "unfair".
"I can’t think of any other crime where the victim has to pay", he said.
"It’s not right that as a victim of a crime, he becomes the criminal.
"The fines for fly tipping (which go up to £1000) are also less than it costs to buy a skip, so people take their chances."
Fly tipping cases across England have reached a record high, with 1.2 million incidents reported in 2024-25. And yet, only 0.2 per cent of incidents result in court action.
This is something Freya Samuel-Smith from the National Farmers' Union told LBC must be tackled.
"We see fly tipping a lot in Hertfordshire, but this one is spectacular.
"We want to see real change to the whole system. That starts with household responsibility and making sure your waste is going to a properly licensed waste contractor or going to a tip.
"But when fly-tipping does happen, we want to see more effective prosecutions, so more arrests, more convictions, to actually deter people from committing this crime.
"For the victims, we want to see that they are better supported in clearing the fly-tips up. At the moment, they are responsible for clearing it, and that’s not right. Farmers shouldn’t be the ones fitting the bill."
The Government has promised a crackdown on this crime, announcing £45 million over the next three years to help expand support for the Environment Agency to catch the criminals responsible.
It has promised to "ramp up" efforts to punish offenders, who could be forced to join ‘clean up squads’ involving 20 hours of unpaid work cleaning streets.
The Government says criminals could also be forced to repay the cost of clearing the waste they illegally dumped.
The farmer, who wants to remain anonymous, said: “Sadly I am not convinced that this government plan will make a lot of difference.
“While, on the face of it, forcing fly-tippers to clear the rubbish they leave is a good idea, the fact is that so few people are being arrested and convicted of fly-tipping. With toxic waste left on the farm, this will need professionals to clear the mess.
“We are not talking about litter louts who left 200 tonnes of rubbish on my farm, but an organised criminal gang, taking advantage of a broken system.
“We are seeing industrial-scale fly-tips happening on a regular basis, here in Hertfordshire and across the country. The criminals responsible for this have no fear of getting caught. In the rare cases when people are caught, they get a fine, which is less than the cost of hiring a skip.
“I welcome the news that the government is exploring new ways of tackling fly-tipping. But they need them to take fly-tipping more seriously. We need the authorities to work better together. We need more arrests and stronger penalties that will act as a deterrent, or criminals gangs will continue to blight the countryside, damage the environment, harm wildlife and leave hard-hit farmers to pick up the huge costs of this crime.
“I was incredibly fortunate that a kind-hearted stranger launched a crowdfunder after the NFU raised my story in the media. I am very grateful to Archie, all of the people who donated and supported me and to the NFU for highlighting my story.
“Without them, I would have been facing possible prosecution over being unable to pay this huge fly-tipping bill.
“This is clearly wrong, and I don’t think this government plan would have made any difference to me or others in this situation.
“We can’t rely on public fundraisers. We need the authorities to get a proper grip on fly-tipping, or these brazen criminals will continue to wreak havoc on the countryside and keep laughing all the way to the bank.”